I take the paper from her, reading the search warrant quickly before handing it back.
My whole body tenses at the thought that someone who knew Ian may have wanted him dead. To believe it was random and a stranger is tough, but if it was someone he was acquainted with, well that’s not something I can wrap my mind around.
The officers, apparently done with the niceties, attempt to herd us out like cattle.
I walk over to Jackson, an officer I’m familiar with. “What’s going on, man?”
He shakes his head. “I wish I could tell you. We’re all torn up about Ian, but all I can say is this place needs to clear out.”
I nod and join Reece and Kate in the hallway. Ian’s parents and everyone else have already taken the elevator downstairs. Neither of them says a word but from their expression, I know they are just as confused and concerned as I am. Who would be so cold and heartless to do this to Ian?
As we wait for the elevator to arrive on our floor, Kate turns to me. “Are you going home?” Her deep brown eyes are bloodshot and vulnerable. Her light blonde hair piled high on top of her head. She looks utterly distraught.
“I’m headed that way now.” My answer comes out thick, so I clear my throat.
She pulls on the bottom of her shirt, looking nervous. “Can I go with you? I just can’t be around my parents right now. All I want to do is lay down. They’ll want to talk and I don’t have it in me.”
I don’t blame her. I’m exhausted and want to do the same but I hesitate to say yes, knowing Embyr might hate it.
I still for a moment, paralyzed by the gut-wrenching realization that I almost forgot her deceit. It creeps back in. Who fucking cares what Embyr would think? Kate is hurting, and I’m not going to turn her down. She needs a place to mourn in her own way.
“Sure,” I tell her, just as the elevator doors slide open.
Reece side eyes me once we step inside. “Maybe you should call Embyr.”
Kate looks between the two of us. “Who is Embyr?”
Reece answers before I can. “Embyr is his girlfriend.”
She turns to me. “You have a girlfriend?”
I look straight at Reece. “Not anymore.”
At first he looks confused and then his face contorts into a look I’ve never seen before, one that I can’t seem to place.
The elevator dings, inviting us to exit, and I tug on his jacket as he walks in front of me across the lobby.
“What was that look for, Reece?” I quietly ask, not to alarm Kate. Something is up and I don’t like it. It makes me seethe with rage.
He shakes his head and attempts to shrug me off him. “What look, Casen?”
I grip him tighter. “You know.”
“No. I don’t fucking know.” He shoulders himself out of my grasp and gives me a hard stare before walking off.
Reece and I have been friends for a long fucking time. He’s lying and I know it.
***
Kate walks into my apartment ahead of me and stops in the middle of the entryway. “Were you robbed?”
I look around at my exceedingly disheveled place. The lamp I broke still lies in pieces while my mail is scattered across the floor. I walk over, picking up the graduation picture, and shove everything into the envelope Ian had sent me before Kate sees it. The knot in my stomach returns again over his loss. “No, I wasn’t robbed. Just pissed.”
She circles the living room, her blonde hair starting to fall from the ponytail holder. I can’t help but observe how much growing up she has done in the past couple years. She is three years my junior but I couldn’t help notice how beautiful she was back in high school. Ian warned me to keep my hands off her, but it never mattered. I wanted Annie back then.
Her body looks like that of a runner and the tight Capri workout pants she is wearing shows it. She catches me checking her out, making me feel like a huge asshole but doesn’t say anything. I chastise myself for shamelessly taking in her body.
“Do you want anything to eat or drink?” I ask, attempting to get myself to go in one direction as opposed to three different ones.
